In order to appeal to most television viewers, networks must be diverse. Well, at least that’s what I always believed. If you take a look at some of the programs of the past, that statement may not ring to be so true. However, if one was to truly examine the current lineup on primetime, they may be in for a colorful awakening. As someone that writes about ethnic diversity in Hollywood, it pleases me to see a broad spectrum of programming on television today. In fact, I honestly can’t recall a season as culturally varied as this one.

Oh, crap — am I in The Twilight Zone? Nah, perchance network executives are finally realizing that it’s 2012. Just take a look at FOX. I’ve never really been a fan of the station — especially after they pulled the plug on Arrested Development. Nevertheless, with the recent inclusion of The Mindy Project, my unenthusiastic views on FOX may just change. Not only is a minority the lead — Mindy Kaling of Bengali descent — but she’s a woman. That’s like two for the price of one! Heck, that’s better than a discount at your local Walgreens! Way to go, FOX!

And while I’m handing out accolades, I think that NBC deserves some with the success of Community, a sitcom that really has a racially diverse (and super talented) cast. Donald Glover can do no wrong, and Danny Pudi is comedic gold. I’m feeling a little generous so I’ll also dish out some love to CBS for casting Lucy Liu, a Chinese woman, in the role of Watson in Elementary, a modern day take on Sherlock Holmes … and before you gasp at that revelation, here’s something else to applaud — after Regis Philbin retired from Live!, he was replaced by Michael Strahan … a Black dude!

Feel free to clutch your pearls.

Okay, enough humor. On a serious note, I couldn’t be happier. Perhaps colorful programming is the new trend. Heck, it’s about damn time. However, that certainly doesn’t mean that these shows are above cancellation. After all, it takes views to keep a program on the air … or does it? According to Entertainment Weekly, ABC just pulled the plug on Last Resort, a drama about a naval force, which starred the brown-skinned Andre Braugher. The show averaged over nine million viewers. Last time I checked that was pretty solid … but what do I know? The network also terminated 666 Park Avenue with my wife — although she never acknowledges our marriage in interviews — Vanessa Williams.

Sorry, Vanessa. I love you, but your show sucked.

While I’m bummed about Last Resort (and content with Avenue), it just goes to show that programs with minorities could use support. Tune in, people! Watch the show! Support it by giving it a chance. We can’t complain about not having enough shows with minorities if we’re not making an effort to watch the ones that we do have. I’m just sayin’. Still, it’s nice to know that networks are at least trying to meet us halfway. I’ve been rather impressed with some of the colorful fare that they’ve had to offer this season.

So, what does this say about society? Does this mean that we are actually moving forward? Well, I’d like to think so. The fact of the matter is that America is diverse and colorful. To that end, I feel that television shows should reflect that. I’m not a rocket scientist by any stretch of the imagination, but I think it’s safe to say that we’re moving in the right direction and pressing on to a more colorful future. Television is changing.

Color me intrigued.

Do you enjoy reading Clacking in Color? Jaylen sure as hell hopes so. Keep up with his opinions and ponderings  by following him on Twitter @thesuperflynerd!

The Mindy Project is hands-down my most highly-anticipated new show this fall. The pilot, if you haven’t seen it, was available early online, and it is everything I hoped it would be. In it, Mindy Kaling plays Mindy Lahiri, an unlucky-in-love OB/GYN. Yes, the premise is gag-inducing and the execution undoubtedly would be in anyone else’s hands. However, as Kaling fans know, you can put a tired premise in her capable hands and watch as she spins it into gold. Most people know Kaling as the annoying, shallow, slightly psychotic Kelly Kapoor on The Office. While she never had a large role, Kelly was always memorable. At first glance, the character seems wholly ridiculous: she treats celebrity lives as if they are her own, she’s terrible at her job, and she’s so vapid that she’s constantly in danger of sucking Scranton into a black hole devoid of any intellectualism or rational thought. But sometimes, I can totally relate to Kelly Kapoor. I’m not the only one, either. A lot of smart, well-adjusted women feel like they have a little Kelly in them. We would never actually buy a tapeworm from a creepy guy in our office, but we’ve certainly joked about it (and maybe secretly considered it for half a second).

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qEyPsHe8b8

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmLZBSET0us

We would also never creepily sing karaoke to a guy we’re hung up on who treats us like shit, but maybe, if we were singing karaoke (and we’d had a drink or two), we may be thinking this.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=6McYAWxGeeQ

Kelly Kapoor is our frivolous side, our crazy side. She’s the side of us that breeding and society have told us we need to push down so we can function like normal adults. We know that everything about her is wrong, but she’s still in us. Office jobs are boring. Sometimes a fashion show at lunch is enough excitement to get you through the day.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRjenLqGqm0

Sometimes Kelly is even with it enough to drop some serious knowledge. She’s dead on in her textual interpretation of the 5 dots Darryl included in his text.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONrNetxS1Fs

This is what makes me so excited for The Mindy Project. Kaling is basically making Kelly Kapoor into a functional human being with a real job. I’ve seen the pilot, and I can relate to Mindy Lahiri. I mean, she has a much better job than I do, but her basic personality and experiences feel very familiar,which An and Christina discuss in their preview. Like Mindy, I have to constantly remind myself that life isn’t a movie; that I can’t expect someone to come in and save the day, or for there to be a happy ending, or really any kind of tidy ending at all.

It’s difficult for women to be taken seriously in general, so oftentimes we present a serious side to the world and keep our inner-Kelly locked down. Mindy Kaling, and now by extension Mindy Lahiri, are showing us that not only can we embrace our inner-Kelly, but we can kick ass at our job and basically rock at life while we do it. After all, I’m neither a showrunner or an OB/GYN, so she must be doing something right.

The Mindy Project‘s pilot gave me a lot of hope, but it’ll be interesting to see how grounded Mindy stays as a character throughout the season, or if she slowly devolves into a less-realistic person to fit in with the “bigger is better” FOX mindset.

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